Questions Every Employer Should Ask During an Interview

7th April 2016

We all know that interviews are a two way process, both the candidate and employer will be judging one another during the time they are sat face-to-face. You may find that in some interviews you don’t get great answers from the candidate, but have you ever thought that it could be your interview questions affecting those responses?

In order to figure out whether a candidate is right for the role or not, it’s important to focus on the kinds of questions you’re asking. Think about what you want to get from the interview and try to make the experience for both parties informative, engaging and worthwhile. Plan questions and review them so they are effective at creating the response you need. Vague, multi-layered or obscure just doesn’t work.

We have some tips as to what questions are ideal to ask during the interview process to find out more from the following areas:

They want to progress their career

Every candidate should have a goal as to where they see themselves and what they want to get out of the opportunity. These are things that you as an employer should find out. Let the candidate explain their experience on their own. Finding out whether they see a future in your company will be beneficial for you to know, that way you can start visualising where you would see them later on down the line and where their key skills would tie into your company’s goals.

What professional or personal accomplishments are you most proud of?

In what areas have you improved the most?

Give us a brief summary of your career

How does this work opportunity fit in with your future goals?

They are interested in the opportunity

All candidates, ESPECIALLY the top ones, should research the company before they apply for the job. Although this is expected from them, there are candidates that do not bother to do any of their homework on the company. During an interview, to test the seriousness of the application, you need to make sure they know exactly what the opportunity is that they’re applying for.

Why do you think you will be successful in our company?

What areas of the opportunity appeal the most to you?

What could prevent you from taking this role?

They will fit within the company’s culture

Motivation in any industry is key, but everyone is different which is why it’s important to find out what encourages different candidates. As an employer, you need to think about your company’s culture and question whether you think they would fit or not.

How would other people describe you?

How well do you adapt to change?

What’s your ideal professional environment?

Take me through the whole process of a time you excelled performance

Each one of these questions will give you an idea as to whether you want to hire the candidate and help get to know them more.

Having a clear interview plan allows both parties to participate with the right balance – it also gives the candidate a sense that you have a direction to the interview. Finding top talent is hard – getting them to join your company is harder.

Make the experience worthwhile

Here at Just IT Recruitment we speak to a numerous amount of candidates every day and we make sure we get to know them before matching them to a role. If you would like further advice on your hiring process, you can give us a call today on 020 7426 9835 to find out more information.

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